At the end of September the TUC announced that it is to co-ordinate a union-backed legal challenge to new Government regulations on sexual orientation. The new Regulations come into force in December 2003. The TUC believes that although the Regulations are designed to prevent discrimination they will actually allow pension schemes and religious organisations to continue to discriminate against lesbian and gay workers.
The Regulations will allow discrimination if, being of a particular sexual orientation is 'a genuine and determining occupational requirement', and it is 'proportionate' to apply that requirement in the particular case. The TUC are concerned about regulation 7(3) as this contains a more specific exception applicable only to employment which is 'for purposes of an organised religion'.
The employer may apply a requirement as to sexual orientation 'to comply with the doctrines of the religion', or 'because of the nature of the employment and the context in which it is carried out, so as to avoid conflicting with the strongly held religious convictions of a significant number of the religion's followers'.
The TUC’s point is that under Regulation 7(3) employers will effectively be able to prevent gay, lesbian or bisexual people from working for any school, voluntary organisation, charity or private company with a religious ethos.
The TUC’s legal challenge also calls into question the legality of Regulation 25, which will allow pension schemes to continue to discriminate in favour of married people. The argument being put forward is that this amounts to indirect discrimination, as gay people cannot marry their partners.
The new law will affect all employers. This challenge will, if successful, affect people who are currently being discriminated against by pension schemes and religious organisations and those organisations.